Combustible mixture for producing actinic light.



To all whom it may concern:

- 'ESTAES PATENT OFFICE.

oAnLBii'rneE, or BERLIN, GERMANY.

coM s'rIBLn'MIxTURn non rnonuorue ACTINIC Lren'r.

Be it known that I, CARL BETHGE, a sub ject of the King of Prussia,G'erm'an Emperor, and resident of 18 Schlesi'schestrasse, Berlin,

K-ingdom of Prussia, German Empire, have invented; new and ImprqvedCombustible Mixturesior Producing Actinic Light, of

' which the folloiving is a specification.

containing magnesium'o-r other combustible The present invention relatesto the production of improved slow burning mixtures metals such asaluminum or calcium for producing while burning, a light of high actinicpower.

In order to produce such time lights it has hitherto been usual toemploy an ordinary flash light mixture to ether with a ballast orcomparatively neutral body that'is to say a suitable substance such asan alkaline earth in a qluantity which exceeds the chemical equiva entof the magnesium orthe' like.

Such methods however have the disadvam tage'thatthey reduce the s eed ofaction and also the actinic power of t e light produced. I have nowfound it possible to produce a mixture which when burned gives forth abri hter light of higher actinic powers than hit ert'o by mixingmagnesium or its equiv,-

alent'in great excess with an oxid of the rare:

earth .Inetal's or their equivalents. As the equivalent ofmagnesiumit'is well known that aluminum, calcium, barium or strontium may beemployed and as the equivalent v. of'a'n oxid of the rareearthmetals,"salts of these metals which are reducibleby heat or correspondincompounds-of metals which -when reducer are easily combustible may beemployed. i

The function of' the rare earth oritsequiv' alent mentioned above istoserve as an oxygen carr er and the operations "taking place during theburning of the mixture may e 'explaindf as follows: The rare earth metalcompound orits equivalent is reduced by the action of the magnesium orits equivalent and, the reduced metal owing, to its easy combustibilityis oxidized by the oxygenof the atmosphere so that further quantities'of magnesium, at" ever increasing tem-' ipe r atures, are ignited, thusthe ignition propla'gates itself gradually through the entireSpecification of Letters Patent. Application filed July a0, 1908. SerialNo. 446,060

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

mass and causes an exceedingly bright light of very high. actinicpowers. The intensity of the light is still further increased by therepeated burning of the rare earth metal or itsequivalent, which, asiswell known, produ'ces when burned an'even more intense light thanmagnesium.

It has also been proposed to use duce alight of considerable durationand also of high ac'tinic power.

"The rare earth metals may, as above de-"' scribed,gbe replaced by thealkaline earths or by reducible salts of the-rare earths or alkai lineearths, in which case, as will bereadily understood, the light has thecoloring'corre5 'spondirig to the metal employed such as strontium andcalcium. The reaction of the active metal which is present in excessand. the repetition of this reaction with the oxids caused by thecombustion of the' reduced metal may also be obtained in the case of allmetalcom ounds in which the combustion of the meta easily takes place athigher temperatures and in which the metal concerned has a lowerignition temperature than they 7 vmagnesium or its equivalent.

" In order toobtain an exceedingly uniform intensity of light compoundsof vanadium inv small percenta es may with advantage be added as afurther oxygen carrying agent.

It has further been proposed, to employ mixtures in which the magnesium,aluminum, or .equivalent was thus in the French Patent No. 357478approximately double the chemical equivalent of magnesium or the like ismixed with sul fates and oxide. In these mixtures the present in excess,

oxids are merel added in order to. produce from the flash light mixture(the mixture of the magnesium and sulfates) a time light. These mixturescontain a com aratively small excess of magnesium and I ium after thenature of a flash li ht mixture in spite of the addition of the ox dsalthough naturally. with somewhat reduced speed. In order to prolong theperiod of burning to that of a slow burning light mixture a considerablygreater excess of magnesium must be-added which however would notaccomplish the result required in the presence of a sulfate. If: on theother hand 1t is desired to obtain a prolongation of the combustion bythe addition of oxids in the manner set forth in the French patentmentioned above such large qpantities of the oxids must be added that. te same no longer take part in the reaction but merely act in amechanical manner as a ballast to reduce protraction of the combustion.his naturally is accompanied by a very considerable reduction in thetemperature and also in the intensity of the light. Further withmixtures of the kind hitherto known it is impossible to obtain such aquiet, slow and brilliant light as that obtained by the resentinvention.

T edistinguishing feature of the present invention as com ared with theknown methods mentione above consists in the employment of a mixturecontaining magneslum in great excess, for example a minimum of threetimes the chemical e uivalent of the oxid or reducible salt, where y anincrease of the temperature and the. brilliancy tures are' characterizedof the light is caused as compared with the mere mechanical rotractionof the combustion of a flash ligiit secured by the addition of an oxid.Mixtures of oxid alone with magnesium, that is to say mixturescontaining no flash li ht mixture as their basis have not hitherto eenemplo ed and such mixy' an exceedingl uiet burning. A mixture of oxide-w1t ouble the chemically equivalent uantity'of metal burnscomparatively quic but a very considerable rolongation of theillumination is effected by emplo ing mixtures with at least three timest e equivalent quantity of themetal.

The roportions may be arranged up to 10 times t e equivalent. I havegiven the proportions of the quantities to be used in chemicalequivalents as the exact numerical ratio oftheweights'empleyed may varyand care has only to be taken that the necessary excess chemically ofthe magnesium oFitsgpivalent is present.

The following examples may be given ofsuitabl compositions for the lightproducing mixtures prepared according to the present mvention ceriumoxid.

II. 250 parts magnesium powder 150 parts cenum ox1d 8 parts vanad icacid.

III. 250 partsv magnesium powder 100 parts oxalate of cerium.

IV. 250 arts magnesium powder 75 parts calcium by roxid.

V. 250 arts magnesium powder 50 parts cerium oxld 50 parts calciumhydroxid.

VI. 250 parts magnesium powder 50 parts oxid of manganese.

VII. 250 parts magnesium powder 50 parts cerium oxid 25 parts oxid ofmanganese.

2 to 3 grams of the above mixtures will burn on the average for 30seconds; greater quaintities of course will burn for longer peno 5.

What I claim is:-.-

1. A combustible mixture for-producing actinic light of uniformintensity and relatively long duration, composed of an oxid of the rareearth metals, and at least three times the chemicall equivalent quantityof an easily combustib e metal.

2. A combustible mixture'for producing actinic light of uniformintensity and relatively long duration, composed of an oxid of the rareearth metals, and at least three times the chemically:equivalent'quantity of magnesium.

3. A combustible mixture for producing.

actinic light of uniform intensity and relatively long duration,composed of cerium oxid, and at least three times the chemicallyequivalent uantitv of magnesium.

4. A com ustible mixture for producing actinic light of uniformintensity and relatively long duration, composed of certium oxid, atleast three times the chemically equivalent quantity of magnesium, andan oxygen bearlng vanadium com ound.

5. A combustible mixture or producing actinic light of uniform intensityand relatively long duration, composed of' cerium oxid., at least threetimes the chemically equivalent quantity ofmagnesium, and a smallpercenta e of vanadic' acid.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses.

CARL BETHGE.

Witnesses HENRY HASPER, WOLDEMAR HAUPT.

